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Not long ago, was there complete disarray at the Bernabeu and the widespread criticism taking its toll on Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti who had the humungous task of replacing Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso. Such a scenario wasn’t completely alien to the Italian as forming a winning eleven without Mesut Ozil on the arrival of the hundred million Welshman was one of his first challenges with Los Blancos. And what Ancelotti had stated after the second defeat of the season meant the very same.
“I feel like a manager who has to fix things, in the same way that I felt like a manager who had to fix things last season”.
Ancelotti remained calm and composed despite the alarming state of affairs and promised a fierce comeback once he got his combinations right. Having been humbled twice in three weeks, who would have even imagined that Los Blancos would go on an unbeaten run, winning 18 games? Don Carlo has managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat yet again and without a shadow of a doubt, the lion’s share of the credit goes to him.
In modern football, successful managers are not just those who have a football philosophy, or those who are capable of attracting stars or those who groom youngsters to become stars themselves. Apart from all of these basic qualities of a successful manager, there is something which is seldom found in managers today; adaptability.
This is the X-factor which differentiates Ancelotti from all of the other top managers today and the Italian has proven this time and again with the Los Blancos. Ancelotti seems to have formed a formidable line-up through minor changes in gameplay and this tactical acumen in Ancelotti is something which deserves to be brought out to light.
Tactical changes
Initially, Ancelotti attempted to play James Rodriguez in Angel Di Maria’s role in his successful 4-3-3, but he paid a costly price for the gamble when it didn’t quite pay off. Los Blancos missed out on the Supercopa title against Atletico Madrid and suffered back-to-back defeats against Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid in the Liga to go six points behind Barcelona in the third week.
With the departure of Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid’s defensive shortcomings were evident as Sami Khedira couldn’t find a place in the starting eleven with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Rodriguez forming the midfield trio. Hence, the physical presence had gone missing. Moreover, James had just arrived in the team and thus found it difficult to carry out the defensive tasks demanded of his role.
Kroos was also facing a similar situation and this hampered the team’s balance, putting together a shaky middle-muddle in the centre. However, a slight tilt to the team’s shape had turned the tables for Real Madrid as they went from a flat 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2/4-3-3 hybrid formation. The change was predominantly meant to improve the defensive third and create a free-flowing counter on the break.
"4-4-2 is the best defensive system that exists and our intention is to defend with a 4-4-2 and attack with a 4-3-3” – Carlo Ancelotti.
The table comprises of Real Madrid’s performance in all competitions after they were defeated by Atletico Madrid in La Liga (the Copa del Rey tie against Cornella has been excluded).
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 9 | +49 |
Now let’s take a look at the tactical changes that have been instilled in the Real Madrid lineup.
Ronaldo’s new role
Real Madrid have adopted a 4-3-3 on the attack with Isco, Kroos and Modric in the middle and Ronaldo, Benzema and James as the front three. Here, the change made to Ronaldo’s role has probably been the reason why the Portuguese forward seems to resemble a beast to the opposition defence.
Ronaldo does not play completely on the wings as he has been given a free role on the left as a floating forward, asymmetrical to Gareth Bale/James on the right. The logic behind the move is that Ronaldo is an exquisite dribbler with blistering pace and deadly finishing. So by deploying him closer to the goal and not as a complete striker, all of the mentioned abilities can be utilized.
In the previous season, many goals were scored cutting in from the left flank while now Ronaldo has adopted a more central role, and hence almost all goals have come from the centre and inside the box.
The rise of Isco & James
Injuries have also been a blessing in disguise for Ancelotti’s men as Bale’s injury has brought out the class player In Isco who seems to have made the best of his opportunities. Initially, Ancelotti had a selection dilemma with two spots being available for Bale, James and Isco. The Welshman’s injury made way for Isco who has been given a very important role in the midfield trio alongside Kroos and Modric.
The Spaniard’s movement actually decides the shape of the team on both attack and defence as he keeps drifting out wide and into the midfield. By staying wide on the left, the attack largely comes from Marcelo overlapping him on the wing and Ronaldo staying put in his new position. The Portuguese drifts out to the wing when Isco cuts into the middle, attacking as a left central midfielder – an area where Di Maria was deployed last year.
Isco is originally marked by the right back as he starts at a wider position, but when this switch of position between Ronaldo and Isco takes place, the right back has to track Ronaldo, leaving Isco to be tracked either by the centre back or the midfielder who is marking Kroos. This makes it really difficult for the opposition to keep track of the position swaps and sustain tight man-marking.
This way, Carlo has broken the myth that a 4-4-2 is an ancient formation which isn’t meant to be deployed in the modern era, by adding unpredictability through quick on and off the ball movement.
Moving on to the right, James Rodriguez has hit a purple patch bagging five goals and five assists. The Colombian had a tough start to the season, but of late he has seemed all settled at the Bernabeu. He has to be given a lot of credit to have adapted quickly, given the price tag and the pressure of replacing arguably the best player of the Madridistas last season, Angel Di Maria.
James has been a crucial member of Real Madrid in terms of creating chances and providing key passes; or in other words, the creativity department has been well taken care of by the World Cup Golden boot winner. Cutting into the centre hasn’t been major part of James’ arsenal and he has rather provided width by staying out wide alongside Carvajal, creating space between the full back and centre back to be utilized by the likes of Benzema and Ronaldo.
Another predominant feature of James has been the diagonal crosses, curving in from the right and these crosses have constituted a good deal of the chances created by him.
The Middle-Muddle
With the hybrid 4-4-2 working wonders for Madrid, much of the attacks have been from the flanks. The central midfield has been about winning the ball back, holding and distribution to instigate attacks. Kroos has settled alongside Modric in the centre and the two occupy deeper positions as they screen the back four when a high line might leave the defence a bit too vulnerable.
Thus, much of the attacks have been from the flanks with the central midfielders supplying the full backs or the wide midfielders. In fact, the most used combination play in a game for the Madridstas has often been the full back and wide midfielder combination.
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona: James Rodriguez & Carvajal with 29 passes between them was the pair with most passes in the game.
Liverpool 0-3 Real Madrid: Isco & Marcelo with 38 passes between them was the pair with most passes in the game.
Defensive diligence
The midfield pair also covers the number 10 space of the opposition, denying the opposition any space in the middle to build up play. So with Isco and James/Bale joining the central midfield to form the first line of four, the defence has seen a drastic improvement.
In all honesty, the central midfield is not the sole reason for the defensive improvement and due credit needs to be given to the wide midfielders. Isco and Bale/James exhibit a high work-rate to track back and help out the defence. Since there is no space in the centre for the opposition to build attacks, they are forced to squeeze the ball into the final third through the flanks.
Here, Ancelotti’s wide midfielders track back to provide support to the full backs and the corresponding central midfielder. Suppose the opposition attacks from the right flank with the winger and full back, Isco falls back to support Marcelo and Kroos, thereby creating a 3 vs 2 situation to break down the attack.
Conclusion
Real Madrid have been disciplined, maintained the team’s desired shape and as mentioned earlier, much of the credit goes to Ancelotti who has understood the nature of his players and formed a system to suit those characteristics accordingly. The changes in system have certainly turned the tables at the Bernabeu and Ancelotti’s men look absolutely unstoppable at the moment.
However, injuries have been occurring at regular intervals and fitness has probably been the only drawback which Real Madrid aren’t able to overcome. A few players, namely Sami Khedira and Jese Rodriguez, were out of action for a very long time. But the two have since recovered and have been available for selection. Gareth Bale was injured for a good chunk of the season while he too has made a comeback into the eleven.
But the latest injury to Luka Modric has undoubtedly caused Ancelotti some headaches. But he has taken care of the selection dilemma, evident from Madrid’s form. Moving ahead, Real Madrid face an easy run of games in the following month with Valencia being the only challenging test. And if the Madridistas can keep the rhythm going for the next few months, another golden season is definitely on the cards.
